BSU exec quits after Confederate flag flak

MUNCIE A Ball State University official resigned on Monday, less than a week after the Ball State Daily News published an email the official authored on a smoldering controversy over the Confederate flag.

The university, however, declined to confirm the resignation of Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of Student Life Jennifer Jones-Hall was related to the email.

Ball State spokesman Greg Wright said Jones-Hall resigned to pursue other opportunities. The student life office is a one-stop shop for students to become involved in community service, multicultural associations, Greek life and hundreds of other groups, from jazz bands to religious organizations.

On March 16, Chloe Anagnos, Elkhart, received Ball State’s John R. Emens Outstanding Senior Award, given annually to the most outstanding senior student in honor of his or her contribution to the university during his/her undergraduate years.

That troubled some students who recalled remarks made by Anagnos — a former Miss Ball State — in 2013 concerning her ownership of a Confederate flag. She had made the comments shortly before becoming president of the Student Government Association (SGA).

The flag is viewed by many as a symbol of white supremacy and racism.

On March 23, Chris Taylor, SGA chief of staff, wrote a message to university officials complaining that Jones-Hall had tried to curtail the freedom of student groups to voice concerns about the flag controversy.

“The Big 4 are not making comments because the(y) are funded through the University and so is SGA,” Jones-Hall wrote in an email to Taylor. “I would be careful not to bite the hand that feeds you. My two cents.”

The Big 4 refers to the Black Student Association, Spectrum, the Latino Student Union and the Asian American Student Association.

“Jones-Hall’s words affirmed the idea that the institution rather not discuss issues important to communities of color in public,” Taylor wrote to BSU officials. “Sadly, our team was bullied out of an opportunity to lend a student voice to a issue in some ways ... this is my effort to blow the whistle.”

Jones-Hall has apologized but declined to comment to the media.

In response, Ball State President Paul Ferguson penned a statement to the university community reporting that Anagnos already has apologized for any offense she may have caused in 2013 and also “has recently reflected on the personal growth she has experienced — primarily from her relationships at Ball State with many friends of diverse backgrounds. This, in itself, reflects the transforming impact of our university community on personal growth.”

In addition, the university organized two open forums on Tuesday to discuss campus diversity.

“Also, as we reflect on the questions and conversations on campus, it is time for us to review the selection processes for not only the Emens Award, but all institutional student awards,” Ferguson wrote.

Charlene Alexander, associate provost for diversity at BSU, told The Star Press, “The student herself has indicated she certainly understands now ... why the flag was a symbol that was offensive to students on campus. She has certainly grown and understood and developed through her time here. She was actually nominated for the award by one of our black sororities.”